How many gods are there?

Why would one assume the biblical text... particularly when some of its earliest texts suggest a polytheistic universe (with Israel's God on top)?

 

Nah, it's not.
Why would one assume there is only one creator god?

 

I was trying to figure out how Til the Last Drop's statement about belief in the only true deity being inherent relates to basketball teams' and musicians' belief in being the best in order to make achievements within their respective fields.

 

Because the other poster was being specific to the Biblical text. The early ancients of the Bible were not speaking of a multiple creator God . This was obvious as early as the Book of Genesis.

 

And what creator do you believe in? How did you make this choice?

 

He didn't answer the last 15 times he was asked that question...

 

Shhhhhhh don't say that.

I'm trying to elicit some kind of reasonable answer from our friend squidward

 

I am just stating what the Bible says .. I have no idea how or who created the universe .. and nor do your .. and nor did the fellow who wrote the Genesis story

 

Good .. then you agree that religion tends to be cultural.

 

Is this news ?

Universally tend to do something. What a concept.

Is that like I universally tend to agree, or I disagree ?
Or some other favorites:

I universally tend eat dinner or I skip it.
I universally tend to pick potato chips, or else I choose nachos.
I universally tend to walk, or else I ride.
I universally tend to do, or I don't.

 

Right, that's what I thought. So you are interpreting 'Heaven/Sky' the darkness,light and Stars (including the sun and the moon) To be created by God, but You think that there is some line that our ancients meant to draw to exclude the other planets.. Got it ..

I guess you aren't including any other part of the Bible, but only a Genesis account ? Well bud, considering that the vast majority of the universe is made up of everything I mentioned,other than the other planets, I'll still stick to that creator, not to mention that we couldn't live without the sun ..

When you reach, you really really reach..

 

Why would one arbitrarily assume 6, or 7, or 8, or maybe 76 ?

I have not even said whether or not I picked one or 85.
I said that which ever creator or creators you choose to believe in, those are the only ones one would believe in.

 

why would it matter ? From a philosophical basis, if I picked one to believe in, that would be the only one that I believed in. I would believe all others to be false.

If I picked 17, those would be the only ones that I believed in. I would believe all others to be false.

If I picked infinite gods, I would really have no belief at all.

Is this difficult ?

 

this really is one of dumbest questions ever posed.
One can never "know".
This is in direct conflict with the concept of faith.

Is this a difficult concept for you ?

 

No ..I am just open to other possibilties. How do you know some Hindoo God did not create the universe ?

 

I understand. I'm just giving you a hard time because even though I'm not caught up on the Genesis story as I'm certain you aren't either, I'm pretty certain that they were trying to relay the message that 'God' created everything that was known to their existence.

So about other Gods.. I just don't view God as some sky creature like some do, I think on some level, he isn't separate from nature,though I could be wrong. What I do believe in is Christ and his message so all the rest doesn't even matter to me. I don't believe in any other Gods for the same reason that atheists don't believe in mine. Because I think that there is a scientific explanation for God even if it would take us another 40 billion years to figure it out.

 

perhaps the concept of faith has escaped you too ?

 

There are three Christs. The fat one balances the two skinny ones.

 

Faith is not knowledge.

 

pay attention. I have repeated that multiple times.

Hence, you cannot ask someone how they know theirs is the only true faith.

 

You can if they are trying to ram it down the throat of other who doesn't share it. This is especially true if it is written in their guide book that there is only one god and that he is it...

Why would he make such a statement if at the time of him saying this to the authors there was already a myriad of gods already being prayed to in this world...

Is your god a liar?

 

Know the concept well ..

Faith - Believing something without having a shred of evidence to back up that belief.

There is no debating Faith .. so there is not point in bringing it up.

 

Agreed .. Taking a literal view of most of the Bible is not appropriate given that it was humans writing the story.

I also agree that the message of Christ is incredibly valuable.

Unfortunately this message is lost on most of Christianity... Especially the part about not forcing ones beliefs on others, forgiveness, and not speaking on behalf of God.

 

it was part of the OP, the subject I have been addressing all along.

 

what have I tried to rammed down any part of you ?
Regardless, that is not the topic of this thread, though everyone knows that was the backdoor intention.

who is my god ? What statements did I ascribe to that god ?